Yes, a car this big and powerful can be fun on a narrow, twisty road.

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This is the 2019 Ferrari Portofino. I'm sorry the pictures aren't great, but I didn't have very long with the car, and driving seemed more important than taking photographs.

Jonathan Gitlin

I think this picture does a good job of highlighting how the side of the Portofino channels air from the front wheels around the sides of the car. Ferrari has learned a lot about air management from its Formula 1 team.

Jonathan Gitlin

The Portofino's cabin is a definite improvement on the California T, the model it replaces.

Jonathan Gitlin

Under the hood there's a 3.9L twin-turbo V8 that Ferrari uses in a number of its cars now. Here, it's mounted behind the front axle, so you don't actually see very much of it. But Ferrari still went to the trouble of painting the intake plenum and the camshaft covers with that crackle red paint.

Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

It's not a particularly small car, and at nearly 3,700lbs, it's not particularly light either. Which is why it's all the more amazing that the Portofino handles so well on tight, twisty roads...

Jonathan Gitlin

... like this narrow ribbon of road that takes you from Carmel-by-the-Sea out to the inland farms.

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Given a bit longer with the car, I imagine I'd find it's as good a GT as it is a sports car.

Jonathan Gitlin

I don't know if you've noticed, but cars keep getting bigger and heavier. There's no mystery to it; safety became a selling point, and airbags and energy-absorbing crash structures take up room and add weight. Naturally, we would expect that power would increase along with mass to prevent next year's model from being slower than this year's, but they're actually getting faster, too.

Consider the Golf GTI. When it launched in 1976, it had 110hp (81kW) and took 9.2 seconds to reach 62mph (100km/h). The 2018 version is exactly twice as powerful (220hp/162kW) and takes just 6.5 seconds to complete the same test.

Further Reading

This trend intensifies as you go up the performance ladder; despite the occasional call for a truce, the arms race continues in full swing. The conventional wisdom—which I myself have peddled on these very pages—is to wonder whether all this progress is actually a good thing. When Formula 1 cars grew too fast for the tracks upon which they raced, the sport moved to new, purpose-built tracks that could contain those speeds. But our roads haven't really changed; if anything, they're usually a lot more crowded than back in the day.

And so, the conventional wisdom goes, something like a Miata is way more suitable for a Sunday morning drive down a twisty road than an exotic with four times the power and six times the price. As is often the case with conventional wisdom, it turns out that's not actually true. One Sunday morning a few weeks ago, while in California, I found myself with the keys to a 2019 Ferrari Portofino and instructions that amounted to "don't bend it and please be back by 1pm."

The Portofino is Ferrari's entry-level car—"entry level" in this case starting at $215,000. It's a front (mid-)engined 2+2 with a folding hard top and a 592hp (441kW) version of Ferrari's F154 3.9L twin-turbo V8. (Other versions of this V8 can be found in the 488 and the GTC4Lusso T.) At 180.6 inches (4,586mm) long, 76.3 inches (1,938mm) wide, and 51.9 inches (1,318mm) tall, it's not particularly diminutive, although at 3,668lbs (1,664kg) it does weigh about 5% less than the model it replaced. It's a bigger car all around than the old Ferrari Daytona, for example, and positively dwarfs something like a Mazda MX-5 RF. Which is what made that particular Sunday morning all the more remarkable.

I didn’t see another car for hours

Further Reading

Somehow, I've become a morning person, and I knew my best chance of getting to know the Portofino sans traffic would be to leave before dawn. But where to go? South on SR1 would be the obvious choice; certainly it would deliver the best pictures. But a friend gave me another idea: head east and keep going until you reach the flat farmlands. So I did.

As locals will no doubt know, the particular ribbon of road I'm talking about (which you can see in the gallery up top) is narrow. So narrow that, in places, there is neither lane divider nor room for two cars to pass each other. It's also twisty, with few straights and plenty of blind turns. It's the sort of road you'd think perfect for a Mazda MX-5 and perfectly unsuitable for the bigger, heavier, much more powerful Portofino. At least, that's what I expected—and I was perfectly wrong.

Ferraris of recent years have been characterized by steering that is both very fast—something like 2.2 turns lock-to-lock—and also very light. And the Portofino's aluminum chassis makes it very stiff, with the two in tandem delivering a car that is far more nimble than it has any right to be. And although the chassis is very stiff, the magnetorheological dampers have a "bumpy road" mode independent of the various other software-defined parameters like the throttle pedal mapping or the seven-speed dual clutch transmission. You can feel road imperfections—of which there are quite a few on California's less-traveled back roads—through the communicative steering. But the dampers will soak up the worst of it so the ride is never close to spine-jarring.

Further Reading

If I'd had some time with the Portofino and a race track, you might now be reading about how the car handles on the limit. I didn't, so the best I can say is that the front tires never ran out of front grip on that particular Sunday morning. The closest I got to lurid power-on oversteer was the occasional shimmy from the rear exiting a slow bend onto a straight.

This could be a daily driver

Similarly, if I'd had more time to live with the Portofino, I could tell you whether it copes with the fast-food drive-thru and if it's possible to make someone sit in the back without amputating their legs. Again, the answers to those questions will have to wait until a later date. (I can say that, when you fold the roof down, it takes up a good deal of the trunk volume.)

Alas, as I mentioned before, my instructions were to deliver said Portofino back to the paddock at Laguna Seca. So on the practicality stakes, I should say that the infotainment system is fine and Apple CarPlay works well. The car is easier to get in and out of than any of the mid-engined entry-level competitors made by Maranello's rivals.

That ease of use definitely plays in Ferrari's favor. Few would consider daily-driving a McLaren 570S, and fewer still will commute in a Lamborghini Huracán. But the Portofino doesn't just offer a front-engined alternative to those exotics; it's also a potential rival for cars that are more grand tourer than out-and-out sports car. Cars like the Bentley Continental or Mercedes-Benz SL, which people can and do drive to work in. Like the Portofino, I'm pretty sure either of those would have been swell for cruising down SR1. But when the road gets narrow and twisty, you're going to want the one with the prancing horse badges.

88 Reader Comments

Likewise. I have chosen to have no children, I live in an extremely walkable neighborhood, my commute to work is 13 stairs, and we don't own a car so either walk or take public transport everywhere in DC. And if anyone thinks I'm some kind of climate denialist I suggest they go look to see who started the science section here and count how often he wrote about climate change.

Come on. You can safely go for one kid. One child halves the population, two maintains it and three increases it. Don't go so hard on yourself just for the environment. Pass the gift of life further.

Don’t tell people to have kids unless you’re willing to step up and raise them, shithead.

I'm not big fan of Ferrari design lately (too much going on), but that is a nice looking car.John

Fake plastic brake ducts, fake venturis below the brake lights, crease-lines that jarringly come to an abrupt end on upper and lower doors, swathes of black plastic outside and silver plastic inside. Design-wise, Ferrari has lost elegance since they parted with Pininfarina.

I spent many pleasant hours working over a friend's Stag so that it had mil-spec quick disconnects on all of the liquids and electricals, as well as pinned motor mounts. When done he could literally have the engine and trans hanging in the air five minutes after removing the hood / bonnet.

So true aficionados beware... If you are just a rich bitch, don't worry. The mechanic will take good care of you.

In times of climate crisis (here in Europe, we just had the hottest July in the history of meteorological measurements, and Greenland is melting right now as we speak), I object against the glorification of cars with internal combustion engines running on fossil fuel. IMHO there is a role here for Ars to take a lead in educating the petrol heads.

You gotta start somewhere. Let's start here.

You do realise that electric cars require significant amounts of petrol to mine and manuf the batteries..

Mines run on fossil fuels, batteries cost thousands becasuse thousands of dollars of fossil fuelds are required to run those mines and the factories.

The only true response is to travel less, electric or fossil cars are all bad...

though thanks to how densely-packaged modern cars are, this is just going to get worse across the board. A good example was the 6.0 liter Powerstroke in Ford pickups. This was a medium duty engine (Navistar VT365) shoehorned into a light truck. early years were prone to head gasket failure. Techs working on them soon came up with their own "unofficial" procedure to make the job of replacing the gaskets easier:

But when the road gets narrow and twisty, you're going to want the one with the prancing horse badges.

I think this sentence perfectly illustrates what the "EVs or die" folks don't get. Some buy cars for transport, to get from A to B, for them any car is fine. For some, cars are deeper, they grew with a dream car poster, drooled over showrooms; their answer for what would you do when you grow up was: I'll buy a car. Of course an EV can be as fast, convenient, objectively better. But for the generation that's grown up today, the poster had a prancing horse, a bull, wings, a chequered flag... I say, let people enjoy what they love, in the end, dream cars are not going to kill the planet. They are too rare and expensive to be of significance.

That's just the indoctrination talking. These small volume runs are HALO cars for ICEs in general, they make people aspire to get something similar. Make them think that this is the best there is.

I like driving, I like cars. I bought a Focus ST because of a review like this. Low-end torque from the turbo was a blast. We got a Model 3 and now I resent every day I have to burn gas to get somewhere. Put your butt in an EV. Demand that your favorite brand produce them. They are fun, they are engaging, they are massively more efficient.

I tried the Model 3.

Still ended up with the Miata.

Admittedly, environmental impact was not even a consideration. I don't think it ever will be a primary consideration, but I may consider it a bonus feature for my next car. That is not likely to happen for several years though, when I finally get sick of my Impreza.

But hey if Mazda makes an electric Miata... hmm.... would that be sacrilege, or even more of a blast?

Awesome! Thanks for trying it out at least. Tough to make one car that suits everyone. Electric Miata; that's exactly my point! Electric motors don't make the same vroom, but they do so many other things well. I'm betting it would be a blast. But it'll take customers asking "hey, why aren't you making electric cars?" for car-makers to really get serious about creating EVs with the same attention they give ICE.

But when the road gets narrow and twisty, you're going to want the one with the prancing horse badges.

I think this sentence perfectly illustrates what the "EVs or die" folks don't get. Some buy cars for transport, to get from A to B, for them any car is fine. For some, cars are deeper, they grew with a dream car poster, drooled over showrooms; their answer for what would you do when you grow up was: I'll buy a car. Of course an EV can be as fast, convenient, objectively better. But for the generation that's grown up today, the poster had a prancing horse, a bull, wings, a chequered flag... I say, let people enjoy what they love, in the end, dream cars are not going to kill the planet. They are too rare and expensive to be of significance.

That's just the indoctrination talking. These small volume runs are HALO cars for ICEs in general, they make people aspire to get something similar. Make them think that this is the best there is.

I like driving, I like cars. I bought a Focus ST because of a review like this. Low-end torque from the turbo was a blast. We got a Model 3 and now I resent every day I have to burn gas to get somewhere. Put your butt in an EV. Demand that your favorite brand produce them. They are fun, they are engaging, they are massively more efficient.

I tried the Model 3.

Still ended up with the Miata.

Admittedly, environmental impact was not even a consideration. I don't think it ever will be a primary consideration, but I may consider it a bonus feature for my next car. That is not likely to happen for several years though, when I finally get sick of my Impreza.

But hey if Mazda makes an electric Miata... hmm.... would that be sacrilege, or even more of a blast?

Awesome! Thanks for trying it out at least. Tough to make one car that suits everyone. Electric Miata; that's exactly my point! Electric motors don't make the same vroom, but they do so many other things well. I'm betting it would be a blast. But it'll take customers asking "hey, why aren't you making electric cars?" for car-makers to really get serious about creating EVs with the same attention they give ICE.

EV conversions of old Miatas can be done, and a few are fairly sanitary. They seemed to be popular among the DIY EV set back around 2010. See for instance this one in Road & Track from about 5 years ago.

though thanks to how densely-packaged modern cars are, this is just going to get worse across the board. A good example was the 6.0 liter Powerstroke in Ford pickups. This was a medium duty engine (Navistar VT365) shoehorned into a light truck. early years were prone to head gasket failure. Techs working on them soon came up with their own "unofficial" procedure to make the job of replacing the gaskets easier:

LOL

Yeah that design as "Made in America" all over it. But hey at least you know in that case the $580 in labor they paid, was well-earned, not just padding for the bill like you get in most dealer and independent mechanic shops.

By the looks of it, that's a solid "three to four days in the shop once the parts arrive" type job.

though thanks to how densely-packaged modern cars are, this is just going to get worse across the board. A good example was the 6.0 liter Powerstroke in Ford pickups. This was a medium duty engine (Navistar VT365) shoehorned into a light truck. early years were prone to head gasket failure. Techs working on them soon came up with their own "unofficial" procedure to make the job of replacing the gaskets easier:

LOL

Yeah that design as "Made in America" all over it. But hey at least you know in that case the $580 in labor they paid, was well-earned, not just padding for the bill like you get in most dealer and independent mechanic shops.

By the looks of it, that's a solid "three to four days in the shop once the parts arrive" type job.